Fresh Corn Salad with Avocado and Roasted Red Peppers

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A summer salad featuring fresh sweet corn cut straight from the cob, diced avocado, roasted red peppers, herbs and an easy homemade dressing. Fresh corn salad is a great way to celebrate the flavors of summer harvests.

bowl of corn salad

Every summer, just when the heat gets intense, sweet corn shows up at our local farmers market. You can drive literally any direction from my house and fields of it stretch as far as the eye can see. It’s abundance also makes it cheap.

Since my family happens to love corn, I take advantage of the three for a dollar prices. But that also means I have to get creative if I expect it to be eaten frequently without complaint. We love homemade creamed corn, cornbread with fresh corn, and smoked corn on the cob. But I’m excited to share this new, refreshing avocado corn salad.

It requires only minor cooking, a bit of chopping, and you’re done! Refreshing, flavorful avocado corn salad will be in your fridge and ready to eat by the spoonful!

The Ingredients

My favorite part of this corn salad is that each ingredient is fresh and vibrant in it’s own way, coming together in a beautiful balance of flavors that entice your palate with every bite.

corn, red bell peppers, jalapenos, limes, and avocados on a table
  • Sweet Corn – Most varieties sold in the US today are pretty sweet when compared to native corn varieties (good luck even finding those), but if you can, get the ones labeled ‘sweet corn’, either yellow or white will do, the color doesn’t make a difference in the level of sweetness.
  • Red Bell Peppers – while ripe peppers are inherently sweet, the flavor that emerges when you roast peppers is rich and unique. I suggest the red, but orange will work too.
  • Avocado – Creamy, healthy, and mildy grassy in flavor, they pair perfectly with the crunch of corn, and the sweetness of both the corn and peppers.
  • Jalapenos – This salad was just begging for a peppery, spicy bite when I first made it. If you don’t like spice, you can leave it out.
  • Limes – Sour and tangy, limes are the base of the light dressing for the salad, and incredibly important to unify the flavors.
  • Honey – Just a touch tames the sourness of limes without dulling the tang and vibrancy.
  • Olive Oil – Can’t have a vinaigrette without oil! A nice olive oil will have grassy notes that enhance the fresh ingredients.
  • Salt – The most necessary ingredient in most recipes. Salt draws out the flavors of other ingredients and should not be skipped.
  • Pepper – Just a fresh crack or two adds a nice little bite.
  • Parsley – My herb of choice (because it grows with abandon in my backyard), it adds a lovely light, fragrant herbaceous note.

How to Make Avocado Corn Salad

While this may not be quite as simple as a simple green salad, I promise you the extra steps (still easy) are VERY worth it.

Roast Corn & Peppers

Roasting these vegetables can be done a few different ways. If you’re grilling, just pop them over an open flame for a few minutes. It’s ridiculously easy on an gas grill, if you have a charcoal grill though, leave the corn in their husks, the soot is unpleasant and hard to remove otherwise.

You can also accomplish the same thing over a gas burner. Unfortunately I have an electric cook top (I know, boo.) so the easiest way I’ve found is to roast them under the broiler.

Just lightly oil corn and peppers, place on a foil lined broiler-safe pan, and pop it in there under high heat. I foil line the bottom of my broiler pan like this one and it’s perfect, easy clean up. The peppers take about 15 – 20 minutes, and the corn about 20. Just rotate them every 5 minutes or so until the corn has browned a little, and the peppers have blackened and softened.

corn and red peppers on a pan

Peel and Chop

Once your peppers and corn are done in the oven, you’ll need to steam the skin off of the peppers. This is really easy, just pop them into a bowl and seal with plastic wrap, or into a ziploc bag. Let them hang out for 5 to 10 minutes.

After they’ve steamed, simply peel the skin from them. It’s easy to do with a paper towel, or I use disposable gloves and just gently rub it off with my hands. They are usually full of water, so be careful and let that drain into the bowl before moving to your cutting board to avoid some mess. Then remove seeds, and chop.

Red peppers steaming in a bowl

While your corn and peppers are roasting, then steaming, chop up your parsley, jalapeno, and avocado. I recommend trying to keep uniform sizes on your chops, similar to the size of a corn kernel. This keeps each bite pleasantly balanced with all the ingredients.

When your corn has cooled, stand it on the stem end inside a medium bowl, and use your knife to shave from the top down, removing kernels and catching them in the bowl.

Then, add your other ingredients!

The Vinaigrette

A simple mixture of lime juice, honey, and olive oil is the perfect dressing to bring your avocado corn salad together. It’s easy to make! Just squeeze 1 1/2 to 2 limes into a bowl, add your honey, and whisk in the olive oil until combined.

Then, sprinkle your salt and pepper over your bowl of ingredients and drizzle on the vinaigrette!

a bowl of unmixed ingredients

Stir and fold gently to combine! I recommend a quick taste test here, add a pinch more salt or pepper if you like.

corn salad in a bowl

All Done!

Then, pop it into your fridge! It can absolutely be eaten right away, but it’s one of my favorite make ahead side dishes. Make it in the morning and it will be perfect that night with dinner. It keeps for about 3 days, though it’s definitely at it’s prime in the first 24 hours.

Avocado Corn salad with roasted red peppers in a bowl

Do I have to roast the corn and peppers?

Technically both the corn and peppers can be eaten raw, it’s true. But for this particular salad, the flavors balance better when you roast. Applying dry heat of roasting to vegetables like these caramelizes the natural sugars within, enhancing not only the sweetness, but other rich, nutty, flavors and creating delicious aromas. Without roasting, this salad would be very different.

Can I freeze this?

I don’t recommend it no, avocado turns and unpleasant brown when frozen, and most vegetables lose their texture was frozen then thawed. Don’t worry, you won’t have trouble finishing it!

Can I use Jarred Red Peppers?

Yes! While roasting fresh peppers is simple (and delicious), if you have a jar in the fridge, or just want to skip the step of roasting them, jarred red peppers will work. You’ll need an entire 12 ounce jar, drained and diced.

ENJOY!

This avocado corn salad is literally a big bowl of summer, and a great way to use those fresh ingredients and maximize their amazing flavors. I really hope you enjoy, and I’d love to hear what you think! Happy Eating everyone!

Need Dinner Inspiration?

Have a delicious summer cookout with Avocado Corn Salad and…

Love Roasted Red Peppers?

Try my Red Pepper Aioli!

avocado corn salad in a bowl

Avocado Corn Salad with Roasted Red Peppers

Mikayla M.
Fresh and full of delicious summer flavors, this simple corn salad is ideal for your next cook out, or any weeknight dinner.
5 from 13 votes
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
Servings 8
Calories 212 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 5 ears Sweet corn, yellow or white
  • 2 medium avocados
  • 3 medium red bell peppers
  • 1/4 cup parsley, chopped
  • 1/3 cup jalapeno, diced 1 large
  • 1/4 cup lime juice 1 1/2 to 2
  • 2 tsp honey
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper

Instructions
 

  • Turn on your broiler to high and line a broiler safe pan with foil. Shuck corn. Lightly oil hands and rub corn and red bell peppers.
  • Place on broiler safe pan and put in oven for 15-20 minutes, rotating corn and peppers every 5 minutes until peppers are blackened and soft and corn is lightly roasted. Peppers may take less time than the corn.
  • While corn and peppers are roasting, remove seeds and ribs from jalapeno and finely dice. Chop parsley and dice avocado. Set aside.
  • When peppers and corn are done in oven remove and set corn aside until cool enough to handle. Place peppers in a heat safe bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to steam for 5 to 10 minutes.
  • While peppers are steaming, juice limes and combine with honey. Briskly whisk in olive oil to form vinaigrette.
  • Remove peppers from bowl, piercing if necessary to drain water into the bowl. Place on a cutting board and remove skin, stems, and seeds. Dice roasted peppers and set aside.
  • Stand cooled corn on the flat stem side in a medium to large bowl, then run your knife down the sides of the cob to remove the kernels and catch them in the bowl. Once you've removed all the corn, add in roasted peppers, jalapeno, parsley, and avocado.
  • Sprinkle salt and pepper over salad, and drizzle on the vinaigrette. Stir to combine.
  • Serve immediately, or store in the fridge and serve cold for up to 3 days.

Nutrition

Calories: 212kcalCarbohydrates: 20gProtein: 3gFat: 15gSaturated Fat: 2gSodium: 306mgPotassium: 518mgFiber: 6gSugar: 7gVitamin A: 1775IUVitamin C: 75.1mgCalcium: 12mgIron: 0.9mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Nutrition information and cooking times are provided as a best estimate. Values may vary based upon ingredients and equipment.

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11 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Really simple to make and paired well with BBQ chicken, and since I was already heating up the grill for chicken I was able to manage cooking the whole meal at once!

    1. Greg, I’m so glad you were able to get your dinner cooked all at once and you enjoyed it. It is a great summer salad when grilling your meal to avoid heating up the kitchen.

  2. 5 stars
    This was soooo perfect for our summer cookout! It was a well loved side dish that disappeared quick!